Not Insomnia

Usually, when you see a post this late you're probably beginning to roll your head and suffer through another insert about how I can't sleep. Nope, not this time. Y'all, I'm tired... tired as hell. Yeah, I'm about to go to bed, but not before I give some mad publicity to my buddy Dan (you defo have seen him comment from time to time... Dan, the avid commenter) who has, in awe and pure idolatry of yours truly, created his own blog. Go visit it, he's a good guy, and it's guaranteed to be a good read. He's studying law in a Master's class at Syracuse in New York, so he's not just an idiot with a keyboard (like me).

BTW, I'm not so stressed out anymore. Still a little, not so bad though. Yay for the purple bag.

So, the Spanish dude was right. The North Pole was "somewhere". Very good. The point of that was to show you how we often think of the world as flat, rather than square... I mean round. Check you later.

Back Again

My weekend certainly wasn't long enough. Friday was nice, went to dinner and got some drinks after that. Saturday I got up nice and early and finished grouting the rest of my kitchen. Finally, the kitchen floor is done. It looks great.

I got a lot going on this week. I don't know why, but when my plate starts getting real full like it is right now, I start getting stressed out. I used to think I didn't get stressed out. I never noticed it at least. I got married, and then she told me I did get stressed out. It's funny how other people notice things about you that you don't. I get distant, recluse-like, until I am all better. The problem is, when I get like that I don't really have the drive to get out of the bog I wind-up getting myself into. Oh well.

So, I am looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully I can destress enough to really enjoy it. I am leaving early Saturday morning with Joe (guy from work) and we are going to Sapelo Island to spend the night and photograph the whole weekend. We have this plan to take little trips like this all over the South East in order to build our portfolios up. We plan on shooting the entire weekend, and getting back on Sunday afternoon. I'm pumped. Be sure to check back on Monday after that to see some great photos.

Well, that's really it. Y'all have a great Monday and week. Here's a quiz to kick off your brain:

You are somewhere. You travel south one mile. You travel west one mile. You travel north one mile. You are in the same place you started. Where are you?

Friday Foto

Who can tell me where this photo was taken (not you Kelly)? I'll give you a hint. "Medieval named ruined structure." Anybody?

I took this photo with slide film. I use this often, when I want a little change in my photography. The difference? Well, I'll tell you. Slide film is positive, versus regular film which is negative. In a nutshell, when you send your film off for processing, with regular film you get back negatives in a strip, when you get back slide film it's in an individual positive state. What's the purpose of doing this? The quality, that's what. If you looked at in terms of megapixels, slide film, when digitally scanned correctly, comes in at about 30 MP, as opposed to most high-end digital cameras at about 12 MP. Now saying that, can you notice the difference? Depends. When a photo is blown up really big (20x30 inches or more), you will notice a difference. Anything smaller or on screen, absolutely not. I'm going to Sapelo at the beginning of February to shoot all weekend and I am taking some slide film to shoot as well. I plan on conducting an experiment on the differences, and I'll lay it out for you here if interested. Have a great Friday y'all.

Text Girl

You must have a lot of time on your hands (or maybe you're just mute) to be able to beat this record. And talk about that sentence, you know that is the actual sentence they use in all contests to determine who is the fastest text-massenger. That's crazy.

Also, I love nothing more then to see someone get told-up on the blog. Thanks to all y'all who helped me prove TV Shows can lead to good movies. Oh, and how about The Saint? That was an awesome movie (Val Kilmer) adapted from an old TV Show.

Shall we even begin to discuss Brokeback Mountain? What are y'all's thoughts on that show? Mine? I think it was made simply to try and win awards. This one is much more promising.

TV and Movie

I was having a discussion last night about TV show movies. Kelly said no TV show has ever been made into a decent movie. Define Movie: A full length Hollywood movie, not a made-for-TV movie. Define Decent: Whatever Kelly likes. I couldn't think of any to back-up my argument. I suggested Blues Brothers (or any SNL-character-based movies). She said no, that was a skit not a TV show. PeeWee's Big Adventure is about the only backing I could get, man do I feel "special" (word of the day, everybody scream real loud!). So, I now enlist the power of the web and you my readers to prove her wrong. Between us all we can surely find a decent movie out there that has drawn it's inspiration from the good ole' boob tube. Speaking of boob, I also suggested "Dukes of Hazard", to which she reminded me that we are looking for a 'good' one. My last vote? Starsky and Hutch. That was a great movie! So, help and post your thoughts below!

Friday Foto

Today's picture is also from the Okefenokee Swamp. This is a 2,100 foot boardwalk that takes you deep into the swamp and dead ends. It was really cool because we saw no one the whole time we walked it. You really felt like you were in the middle of nowhere.

For those that attempted the trivia question, only one got it right. It was Bono from U2 who was traveling with Jimmy Buffett when his plan was shot down. Bloody Sunday and Grapefruit Juicey Fruit, I guess they go together.

Have a great weekend.

Oh weekend, please arrive

I am ready for the weekend. At the end of each day my eyes are killing me. I come home with a headache. This week has been tough. I'm pumped about the weekend though. I might be going to Little Cumberland this weekend with a friend. I really want to shoot it and this will give me the chance. I hope the weather and tides work out.

I have some relatives arriving tomorrow and we get to eat lobsters. I'm excited. Lobster's are good, don't get me wrong, but the work/food portion ratio is really low. Now, if they could stuff a Filet Mignon, salad, potatoes AND the lobster meat all inside the tail, we'd be in business. Unfortunately, it's not that way. I just had a Turkey Burger for lunch... it was good.

How pretty of a day is it really? Man, bright blue skies and cold. Couldn't be nicer. Hey, I got a trivia question for you... Do you know that song by Jimmy Buffett, "Jamaica Mistaka"? It's about the time that Jimmy Buffett was flying down to Jamaica when his plan was shot down being mistaken for a drug smuggler, when all he was doing was going to have some jerked chicken (man that stuff is good). Well, here's the question: Who was traveling with him? Yes, you will know who it is. Post your non-googled answer below. No, it was not a bulldog born in Alapaha. Hint: Another singer.

How about those Golden Globes? I don't hold much merit in crap like that. It seems like everybody won something. Those award shows are for the celebrities to get dressed up and party and get free stuff. Granted, I would love it if I was one, but since I am not, I can complain about how stupid they are. Well, OK.... answer the trivia question.

Camera Tossing

So has anyone heard about this new craze sweeping the UK called 'Camera Tossing'? Here's what you do. Grab your point and shoot digital camera (I guess it could be film) and set the shutter to like one second (or you could just force quit your flash feature) and, preferably at night time, mash the photo button and throw it up into the air and then catch it. Yes, that's what I said. Throw it into the air. Would I do this with my $2k camera? HELL NO! Would I do it with Kelly's? Well, yeah, of course. The idea of doing this is this: You never know what you will get. All pics are different. If there is light around, like the street light in the image of mine below, it "paints" it on the image, in whatever way it happens to be thrown or twisted, etc.
If you are interested in seeing more images done in this fashion, check out this link.

Now, who is interested in seeing more of these images from me? Because you know, they would be really cool. I'll try a whole bunch of them and post them on the blog you are all interested. I like the technique. There is some photoshop work involved to make it really cool, but it's basically just camera tossing. It's abstract art. Let me know.

My Weekend.

I woke up in the middle of the night and was freezing. I reached for my thermometer and read 54 degrees. I might have well been in heaven. I love cold weather camping. Some will laugh at that statement... Cold. Saturday morning greeted me with beautiful blue skies and chilly, windy air. To me, it was perfect. When a campfire becomes a necessity rather than a nicety.

Let me tell you one thing. On traveling to the Okefenokee Swamp, one encounters many quaint towns and sites. However, there comes a point in which that stops and you find nothing. No gas stations, no food stores, no bathrooms. Of course, this point comes when I am hungry... really hungry. Let's just say we are short one dog now. No, just kidding... all you PETA freaks can calm down. (Hey, by the way, you know what PETA stands for don't you? People Eating Tasty Animals!)

We rented a boat on Saturday and took a cruise through the swamp. How magnificent it is. We docked on one of the 70 islands throughout the swamp, Billy Island, and walked around and had lunch. It was so rejuvenating to see such untouched wilderness still. The dogs seemed to thing so too, running around and getting into everything imaginable, including the bag of marshmallows.

The best thing was definitely getting away. Getting away from the computer, the work, the stress. Spending quality time with Kelly. See, there is a huge difference between spending time with someone and spending quality time with someone. Regular time helps pass time, quality time helps preserve time. It took me awhile to get that one down. I'm still working on it.

Anyway, enjoy the photo below. It is of Billy Island in the Okefenokee. Basically straight outta the camera folks...

Friday Foto

This picture is one of my favorites portraits. I took this while traveling though Germany. I was in a hostile in Berlin. This is my friend Meredith. She was starring out the window, and I was going to get that shot until she turned and looked at me. I love it. Her face says so much. I shot this with B&W film. This photo wound up in my end of term exhibit titled "Reflections".

On another note, Hogzilla is real... all 900+ pounds and 12 feet.

I'm going camping this afternoon, leaving early from work. Man, I am so excited. Don't worry, I'll take tons of photos and give you guys a little prize at the end of the weekend.

Did you hear about the guy in FLA that just got eminent domain claimed on his land in the Everglades? He was given 5 million bucks for it by the government.... but he doesn't want it. He just wants his land back. That sucks. But come on, it's 5 mil!

Happy Friday 13th!

Some randomness for you!

Today is hump day and I thought I would give you guys some stuff to ponder throughout the rest of the week. Have you heard about the little Iraqi baby the US saved? Have you been watching/reading/listening to the news? Then you should know about the little baby with Spinabifida who, oh by the way, just happens to be Iraqi. Question... would this even make the news if she was a Georgian? Anybody? NO! What a pretty obvious publicity stunt for the U.S. Government. Granted, I believe what they are doing is right, but maybe instead of spending however much they spent on fixing that kid (no Dinar exchanged hands I'm sure) they could have invested it into Iraq itself... or, here's a thought, invest it domestically!

Yesterday Apple just released a couple of cool things. If you have been holding out on getting an iPod because you just can't stand the thought of parting with your FM radio stations, do yourself a favor and jump off a bridge. Or, buy the accessory when you buy your iPod that enables you to catch to those FM waves... oh yeah, and it's also a remote so you don't have to reach into your pocket and change the song when "Prince Ali" comes on in shuffle mode. Thanks but no thanks Apple. But, the new laptop is something I drool over. It's just uber fast and really sleek. A cool feature? Well, since you asked.... it has a backlight keyboard that turns on when it gets dark. The letter itself glows a light green. How cool is that. No more typing in the dark.

Ever seen a satellite image? Want to see them all? Download Google Earth. Just released, it is amazing. Similar programs have been out before, but none as easy as the Google Earth one. You can search any place in the world and pull a pre-recorded satellite image of it. You can zoom too. In really popular places like Atlanta and San Francisco, you can zoom so close to see individual cars.... from freaking space man. Nope, not gonna find your shack in Alapaha, GA, sorry.

Trivia question for y'all... should be real easy. Kelly, you can't answer. What is Alapaha known for? Have a good day!

Potpourri

I just discovered Steve Miller Band all over again. I have their CD, Greatest Hits 1974-1978 but since switching almost completely to the digital side of music, I haven't listened to it in awhile (plus it's scratched to hell and back). I was in a bar the other night and the song "Winter Time" came on. It was like a blast from the past. It's one of those songs that you'll probably never hear on the radio, but I knew all the words to. I went home that night and downloaded the album off the internet (illegally of course, but hey, I originally bought that one... so cut me some slack alright?) Oh man, it's an awesome album.

So I am so excited about this weekend. You know, it's been more than a year since I have been camping. That is a horrible shame. So, Kelly and I are going to Stephen Foster State Park this weekend with the dogs. I can't wait. It's located in south Georgia, right in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp. We are going to rent a boat and ride around in the swamp. Be prepared to see some cool photos y'all. I'm bringing all the gear.

Had an awesome weekend of just lounging and eating. Could it really get any better? Can I make an aside about how much I hate PC's? Never once have I had an annoying spyware or virus or pop-up on my Mac. You give me a PC user who can say that and I'll kiss you (that should be some good incentive!). Have a wonderful week.

Friday Foto: A personal favorite

It occurred to me that every photo I have posted until now has been more artsy than anything else. This week's photo is different. This is perhaps one of my favorite photos I have ever taken (and probably Kelly's least). It is of Kelly in a tent laughing and exhausted after making up the campsite... all with the bling on.

When I left for college at the end of the summer in 2001, I had just begun to date Kelly. She left for Presbyterian College, and I for Berry College. We met up the first weekend we were both free and went camping in South Carolina. This was our first trip together, and my first trip in college. When I look at this photo, I truly understand how a photo tells a thousand words. I don't just see a girl laughing. I see the memory of sitting around a campfire talking until the fire died. I see our first hike together. I remember how annoyed I was when I had to escort her to the bathroom at 3 a.m. because she was scared to go by herself. I see my life as it was, with my entire college carrier in front of me, without a single clue as to what I wanted out of it. I remember getting so excited about teaching someone all about how to camp; instructing on proper tent set-up, lantern lighting, campfire cooking. I remember feeling so good seeing how impressed she was.

When I look at that photo I don't just see an early memory of my wife. I see a whole chapter of my life that has closed. But this is not sad. It's like a favorite book. You hate to finish it, but you can always go back and reread it. Sure, it's not going to be as good as the first time, but it can be just as good for other reasons... we mature, we learn to read between the lines.

New Year, same me

You know every year I make these wide-open new year's resolutions to change myself or my habits. I get so caught up in the attempt that when I fail, and ultimately I do, I get even more discouraged then before I started. Not this year, nope. I have finally discovered that I am fine the way I am. Sure, their are things that I would like to tweak, and tweaking I shall do... but nope, no TLC Overhaulin' episode featuring Ben's life ending in incompletion this season. I'm (and most of my friends, whether they see it or not) are at a time in our lives in which it is imperative to get that compass reading on life and make sure we are walking down the path we want to be. I like to get that reading ever so often... something resembling slightly what others might call a 'reality check'.

Thanks to you all who have made really nice comments to me about my new website. I appreciate it more than you know. It encourages me to be better and better. If you haven't seen the site yet, stick your head in the toilet and flush. You deserve it. No really, check it out... and check it out often, I plan on updating the site as often as possible. Hope everyone has a great rest of your week. Check ya later.